Chapter 86 Save AI3, City of Wisdom
The two new players complained in astonishment, saying that the referee was talking nonsense and that even after all that, he still said it was okay to put it back.
It's not surprising that newcomers have such thoughts; they haven't gotten used to the game's style yet, so naturally they can't understand some of the game's clever tricks.
The veteran players disdained to play with them, so Ling Yuanshan had to explain: "The referee only said that you can put it back to restore the original situation and that it will count as passing the level. He didn't say that putting it back would pass the level. These are two different things."
The boy in the tracksuit looked speechless: "Do we really have to nitpick over these kinds of words?"
Wu Wangwang chimed in from the side: "Most of the time, the core of this game is wordplay."
"What if I misunderstood?" The girl in the sailor uniform shrugged.
Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Die!"
The most obvious example is the "Going Home" instance. Those who misunderstand it will directly transform into ghosts, and there won't even be time to warn them.
The oldest-looking veteran player spoke up to stop them from joking around, directly steer the conversation back to the dungeon: "Alright, you'll understand these details after you've gone through it once. You two are veteran players too, so I'll get straight to the point. This dungeon is supposed to be a faction-based cooperative dungeon. I hope we can all cooperate sincerely from now on. Unless you've taken on an undercover role, it's better to entrust each other with trust."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Then, the veteran player spoke first: "I checked, and the humans in this instance should have two names. One is the so-called system name, and the other is the name given by the human's parents. But my firsthand information is that both of our names are wanted by the authorities."
Another female player said, "Yes, so we can only use the fixed numbers we used when we formed the Dream Team. It seems to be sorted by age. I'm the second oldest."
The first male player to speak was the eldest brother, followed by the third brother, the fourth brother, the fifth sister Wu Wangwang, the sixth brother Ling Yuanshan, the seventh brother in sportswear, the eighth sister in sailor uniform, the ninth sister in school uniform shirt, and the last female player, the tenth sister. This order has a very old-fashioned feel, which shows that when the Dream Team was founded, this group of people were nostalgic.
Anyone who has played for a long time knows that you can't keep secrets in this kind of dungeon; you have to cooperate sincerely. Unlike the dungeon where everyone seems to be cooperating, but actually everyone has their own ulterior motives.
The referee made it very clear: in the battle against the enemy, they cannot even betray their allies to another faction; betrayal means death. Therefore, anyone with a clear head knows that they cannot hide information for their own benefit.
The messages in each person's hands can be moved and sorted. Since it is unknown how to sort them to determine the truth, everyone first listed the messages according to seniority.
Boss: Professor, I have a map of a purely human living area.
Second: The genius mechanic, there is no machine she cannot repair - this talent is shared 50% with the player.
Third: The thief once stole a human extinction plan, which led to the formation of their team.
4: Sniper, 100% accuracy – This talent is shared 50% among players.
Wu Wangwang: An escaped experimental subject, possessing a list of researchers.
Ling Yuanshan: An escaped experimental subject who possesses a map of the research institute.
Seven: A high school student, one of the candidates for half-humans in this cohort, who has a list of candidates for half-humans from the previous three cohorts.
Eight: A junior high school student, a selected biological genius, capable of purely human modification.
Nine: University student, genius in research on electronic life emotion systems—this talent is shared 50% with the player.
10. Mercenaries have access to the black market and dark web, allowing them to obtain real-time information quickly.
The information they obtained seemed unrelated, but in fact they all pointed to the same thing—the three factions in the instance had been at odds for a long time.
After hearing the news, the veteran players habitually started recording on the screen. They had obviously been to this kind of sci-fi dungeon before and picked it up quickly. The three kids next to them followed suit. Although Lao Jiu had come here by suicide, for some reason, the referee's words suddenly took root in her mind. She actually felt that dying in the dungeon seemed better than committing suicide alone, so she also started to act.
Children learn quickly because they were born in the technological age and basically grew up using various technological products. Although the level of technology may differ, the operating logic remains the same.
Wu Wangwang only learned to read novels, watch TV series, and play games; these things were too difficult for her.
Ling Yuanshan quickly finished taking notes and then taught Wu Wangwang how to operate the system. Fortunately, Wu Wangwang learned very quickly and could learn things after being taught only once.
Seeing this, the leader next to him was a little worried: "You two... what's going on? You look like veteran players, but how come... and are you a couple? Only your identities are a pair, could these two test subjects be a couple too?"
Since it might involve details about their identities, Ling Yuanshan had to explain, "We're not a couple, but we've known each other for a long time. I've run this dungeon many times, and she's doing it for the tenth time. I was just thinking that this dungeon will be very targeted at her weaknesses, so I hope you don't mind."
Lao Ba asked in a low voice, "What do you mean by the tenth dungeon?"
The second sister explained from the side: "After going through nine dungeons, the game can basically solve all the player's life problems, including money, illness, and emotions. So in order to balance the number of players, the tenth dungeon must be completely matched with the players' weaknesses. In other words, most players will be defeated in the tenth dungeon."
In some very special dungeons, dozens of people enter, and in the end, only the targeted player might die. Weaknesses are unavoidable, and humans always seem to fall into the same trap and die.
The eighth brother immediately looked at her with admiration: "Wow, you guys are all amazing, right? You must have already cleared the tenth dungeon. With your help, the fifth sister will definitely be able to clear it too."
Because Ling Yuanshan looks very young, and he was able to clear the dungeon at such a young age, he must have had someone protecting him and he should be able to survive. Besides, there are six veteran players in this dungeon, so how could they not save one player's life?
Ling Yuanshan shook his head: "The so-called weakness is the fatal flaw that even the greatest protection others give you cannot completely avoid. Fifth Sister was forced to drop out of junior high school by her family to work. She only went back to school for half a year after meeting me. She knows nothing about electronic products. She can only read novels and play Candy Crush. How can she use those high-end products?"
Wu Wangwang stood to the side, smiling obediently. She thought reading novels and playing Candy Crush were both great, and she had learned a lot of useful knowledge from them.
After listening to Ling Yuanshan's words, everyone fell silent, suddenly realizing that the game's definition of weaknesses was very accurate and insightful.
After a long silence, the eldest brother said, "You're all young people. I'm old and I've mastered it, so she'll definitely be fine too. But you should cooperate with each other more. Once we get out, we'll probably be hunted down immediately. There won't be much time for her to learn slowly."
Seeing that they had finally stopped discussing their own level of education, Wu Wangwang raised her own question: "Compared to my question, I think the bigger question is, what do we do next? The AI also said that there's no point in going back now."
But hiding here forever isn't an option. In this high-tech era, as long as they still use electronic devices, they'll be detected. The other thirty players are probably familiarizing themselves with the rules just like them. Once they've adapted, they'll definitely come after them.
The AI reiterated its opinion: "Think about it. To regain control, we must obtain the corresponding key. To maintain balance, pure humans, half-humans, and electronic life forms each possessed a key. The key held by each group will be further divided, and the specific number of divisions is an internal secret."
In other words, they could choose to gather all the keys and let the AI regain control, but since they don't know the exact number, they might end up wasting their time.
Ling Yuanshan pressed the AI, "AI, what is the minimum level of access you need to fully control the system?"
The AI replied: "The minimum is 60%, and you must possess the key, which is held by both humans and electronic life forms. Without the key from these two parties, even if you collect 60%, the firewall may still be breached and permissions seized. If you fall below 60% again, things will get out of control. This tug-of-war like a draw is meaningless."
"What a useless AI," Wu Wangwang muttered to herself. She thought it was incomprehensible for a world administrator to be so fragile.
"In response, the AI's primary function is to maintain the world's operation and provide optimal solutions; it is not the world's master as you understand it," the AI stated matter-of-factly.
Everyone looked at each other, realizing that this journey was indeed difficult. Even the AI showed no intention of competing, and they might not even be able to defeat other electronic life forms once they got out.
The eldest brother rubbed his temples: "Forget it, we can't count on it. Maybe it has some kind of AI three prohibitions or something. We'll be lucky if it doesn't sell to us then."
At this moment, Xiao Shi suddenly spoke up: "They've started their operation over there, ordering an order to search for our trail. If our network remains open, we'll be discovered soon. We're currently located in an underground warehouse three streets outside the main city's AI center. We're too close; we'll be discovered very quickly."
Ling Yuanshan immediately said, "Let's move towards the pure human area first. If we are detected now, we will know that we are pure humans. If we go to other areas, we will be easily ganged up on by the natives. If we go to the pure human area, we can at least hide our identities for a period of time."
Everyone agreed and started assembling the items, except for Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan. All the equipment they carried was empty, and even the two lists were in TXT format, so they couldn't take out the shared weapons in the dungeon like the other players.
After the assembly was completed, the boss went to grab the chip, made sure it couldn't be searched or tracked, and then put it away safely. Just as he was about to say goodbye, he saw Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan empty-handed.
The leader was speechless for a moment: "You two are just planning to go out like this? Even if you don't have the weapons provided by the dungeon, you should have some items, right? After you get out, you might have to go through a chase for a while. Are you really planning to speedrun it in one life?"
After listening, Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan exchanged a glance, then raised their right hands and pulled out red scissors and a long-handled dagger with a distinctly retro style.
On the other side were high-tech firearms and ammunition, while Wu Wangwang had two cold weapons—the difference was too great.
Ling Yuanshan was silent for a moment, then said, "Most of the sci-fi futuristic dungeons I've been to only give me small-scale high-tech items, very few weapons, and the number of times they can be used is limited. This knife doesn't have any of that; it doesn't even wear out."
“Mine is too.” Wu Wangwang held up the scissors with great pride.
-----------------------
Author's Note: [End of Chapter]
Wu Wangwang: That thing looks way better than cold weapons [starry-eyed]
Ling Yuanshan: You're not coming here to say, "Adults, times have changed," are you? [Laughing and crying while covering face]
————————
Thank you for watching, and I hope you enjoyed the article.
————————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
